a dream that you wish | kasey winslow |

Chapter 38

It was now July 8, a day before Carleigh's birthday. Kasey had rehearsal for the good part of the day, but instead of lagging behind to talk to people, she went straight home. 

Carleigh was away, doing another Hamilton workshop, apparently, so Kasey was free to quickly bake the birthday cake.

It was vanilla, with mint green frosting. Carleigh's tastes in food were extremely similar to Kasey's, and they both loved mint green. 

Kasey listened to Dear Evan Hansen while she baked, just so that the loft didn't sound too quiet. She didn't like being alone when it was quiet. It gave her an eerie, suspicious feeling that made her paranoid. 

Jace: would you be interested in going for some coffee?

Kasey: i'm baking carleigh's cake right now, but maybe later tonight if you're not too busy.

Jace: no, whenever is fine. just let me know. 

~~~~~~

The cake was done fairly quickly, so Kasey was able to take it out to cool and hide it in her room before going to coffee with Jace. She didn't want Carleigh finding it before it was fully finished.

"Hey," Jace greeted her when she stepped inside the coffee shop.

"Hey."

"So, what's the cake for?" Jace asked once the waitress had taken Kasey's order of frozen hot chocolate.

"Carleigh's birthday is tomorrow, and I don't really have time to bake it tomorrow, because rehearsals are still pretty crazy."

"Tell her happy birthday."

"I will," Kasey promised.

They were quiet for a moment while the waitress handed Kasey her frozen hot chocolate.

"I know we just broke up a while ago, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to give us another chance," Jace said finally. 

Kasey blinked. That wasn't what she thought this conversation was going to be about.

"You don't have to," Jace continued, when she didn't say anything. "I was a jerk, and I know it's my fault, but I miss you."

"You're right, you weren't the nicest," Kasey told him. Jace paused, looking disappointed. "I know it was hard for you, but it was hard for me, too. You have to understand that when things go wrong, we have to be there for each other. We can't blame the other person for what's out of their control."

"I know, and I won't. I promise."

"I've been let down by too many people in my life to be able to do something like this lightly, Jace," Kasey said seriously. "When something is important to me, I commit to it. This isn't a game. Not to me."

"Our relationship was never a game for me, Kasey."

Kasey took a deep breath. "You have one more chance. Don't screw it up."

"I won't," Jace said emphatically.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rehearsal the next day was... eventful, to say the least. Jess had gotten pneumonia, which Gary was not happy about at all. Kasey wasn't surprised. One of the leads was bound to get sick, especially with everyone in such close proximity to each other. She hadn't looked healthy the previous day, either, so it shouldn't have come to a surprise to Gary. Then again, he wasn't that observant.

Since Elizabeth stepped in for Jess, it changed the dynamic of the rehearsal. Gary refused to accept the fact that one of his leads had gotten sick, and instead of treating Elizabeth's put-in as an opportunity to rehearse with an understudy, he just treated it as a wasted day.

They ran a few lead songs- 'An Act of True Love', 'For the First Time in Forever Reprise' and 'Love is an Open Door', before Gary moved on to the ensemble.

That meant that there was a lot of nitpicking and not much of anything else.

"Why don't you all go home?" Ryan suggested after a few hours of Gary yelling at the ensemble.

"He'll yell at us if we do," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes.

"It's fine, I'm giving you permission. Gary isn't the only one with authority in this company, alright? Go home, rest up. Text Jess and see how she's doing, okay?" 

"Thanks, Ryan," Kasey said gratefully. 

She walked home as quickly as possible, knowing that Carleigh would be there. 

"Happy birthday!" Kasey exclaimed as soon as she stepped inside.

"Thanks," Carleigh said, grinning. "You're back early."

"Jess has pneumonia, so there was no point in the leads staying, according to Gary," Kasey told her friend. "Did you eat any cake yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you."

"We can open presents first," Kasey suggested. She went to her room and brought out Carleigh's gift, wrapped in grey wrapping paper and tied with a white bow.

Carleigh opened the box carefully, pulling out a framed picture of herself. Kasey had taken it a long time ago, during 'A Winter's Ball', when Carleigh was onstage for the 'reliable with the ladies' line. Carleigh had a bright smile on her face, and it was during a rare, pouf-less show.

"When did you even take this?!" Carleigh demanded.

"It was a couple weeks before the Tony awards," Kasey confessed. "You were lazy and didn't wear a pouf for that show."

"It's wonderful, thank you."

"Of course. Happy birthday," Kasey said, smiling.

"You're too sweet."

"And Carleigh?"

"What?"

"Thank you for being here. Your friendship means the world to me, and you've been here for me when no one else was. You deserve so much more than a photograph," Kasey said earnestly.

"You never need to thank me for that, Kasey. I'll always be here."